Peaky Blinders imagines

Arthur Shelby x male!reader imagine

The kiss prompts are 38: Whispering "I love you" before a chaste, delicate kiss, and 1: Small kisses littered across each other's face.

Warnings: homosexuality in the 1920s, mentions of sex


Arthur Shelby had had many women in his lifetime, but not one was good enough for him to be in a relationship with.
They tried their best, certainly, but not one was able to have a connection to him in which both parties understood each other.
Even though he tried he never understood women and their way of thinking, and they certainly didn't understand him.
He had tried, Linda being the last person he had let into his life, but even she and her God had left him, because they wanted different things in life.
Apparently him and God wanted different things in life as well.
Whereas Linda seemed to know what she wanted when she went away he was left to figure it out, until he found a new tailor in London.
Tommy had sent him to London for some business, and Arthur had decided to take it upon himself to check out the tailor Alfie Solomons had suggested to him years ago, because he felt like it.
He was sick of the same old tailor he had gotten his suits from in the past, even though they had been made in Birmingham, something he usually supported, but Tommy had come to buy newer, more expensive suits from a fancy shop in London, so Arthur felt like he could try it as well.
When he reached the shop it wasn't as he had expected a giant and pumpous shop, but apparently his jewish partner had had good taste in the small things.
At entering the shop he took in a lot of things.
It really was a small shop, cramped with fabrics and all types of suits hanging from staffs and even pipes on the walls, the smell of freshly cleaned fabric wavering around him, enveloping him in a well needed embrace.
With a 'pling' of the bell in the corner of the door Arthur entered the quiet shop, hearing heavy, slow footsteps approaching.
It was a dragging of shoes on the wooden floor until an old man appeared, his beard sending out an air of wisdom only a wizard could have embodied.
The old man sent a quick glance at Arthur before he turned around again, raising his voice to shout a name Arthur didn't quite catch.
As soon as the young man that was called entered the shop through a back door Arthur wished he had, though.
You were as well dressed as any tailor, with a few needles and yarns pinned to your jacket for convenience.
Arthur had found men attractive before, especially men that were a bit younger than himself, but the way you captured his attention was unique.
"What can I do for you?", he heard your rather shy voice, and Arthur Shelby grew flustered for the first time in his life.
It had been the first time he had met you, but certainly not the last.
Arthur visited London more often now, when asked he had only once mentioned the new tailor he had found, much to the amusement of his brothers, though.
"Does he have a beautiful wife, Arthur, eh?", Tommy had asked laughing and Arthur had only winced, something that in Tommy's mind confirmed his thesis, though he didn't know how wrong he was.
Arthur had managed, after what felt like about half an hour of stuttering, to ask for help on his new suit, and he had promised to return to the shop when it was finished to try it on.
It had been the only excuse he could have come up with, but he was just happy that was indeed able to return to you.
He hadn't caught your name but at least you knew his, and Arthur had the slight hope that you had no idea who he was by the interested but not even slightly shocked expression he had recieved from you when he had stated his name.
When Arthur returned to the tailor shop he was greeted by you again, receiving a gentle smile from you.
He did try on the suit and it fit well, making Arthur confident enough to ask for your name.
He also managed a conversation during which he often caught your eyes lingering on him, and you exchanged shy smiles, though Arthur usually wasn't a shy man he seemed to be when you were around.
The next time you saw each other was per Arthur's request, but you were both happy to see each other again.
You had wondered about the shy but harsh looking Blinder until you had asked around, finding out just what kind of man he was.
Or at least what his reputation was, because you could see no way that Arthur Shelby, the man that blushed and stuttered trying to talk to you could be an anxious brute.
You met up with Arthur at a pub the Blinders owned in the city mid day, to drink and talk.
It went well, and you were both pretty much a blushing mess by the end of it.
When you walked back to your store you stopped in a small deserted street, and the whisky Arthur had gulped down during your conversation helped him pull you towards him by your collar, pressing his rough lips against your own.
He took you by surprise, but after just a few seconds you kissed him back, setting your hand on his chest and the other to the side of his face.
After only a few seconds you pulled away, shaking your head thoroughly.
Arthur watched you perhabs in the gentlest way he had ever looked at anyone before he set his hands to the sides of your face, calming you effectively as he pulled you towards him to set his forehead against yours.
"We'll be careful", he simply whispered, and you nodded breathlessly.
You were careful.
You and Arthur met more and more frequently, and when you didn't see each other you were thinking about one another.
He was gentle towards you and you were gentle towards him, which he certainly needed to ease his mind after the brutal days of work.
His family didn't know where he went and neither did yours, because you both felt like it would be for the better this way.
You oftentimes met in a house in London Arthur had managed to buy without his brother noticing, most often to simply talk while holding each other close.
It were times like these that made you feel more at home than you had felt ever before, and Arthur felt understood, fully understood, for the first time in his life.
You led a relationship that meant the world to each of you, and you established your own rituals, your own every day life along the way.
Arthur would come first to the house, making sure no one saw him come in, before you would enter a few minutes later.
You would talk, kiss or make love, before you got dressed again much to both of your dismay, and Arthur would bring you to the door.
You weren't scared of the people's judgement even though their opinions would be harsh, but you wanted to keep it secret for the sake of the both of you.
Arthur needed you to stay sane and respectively wanted to keep you away from his lifestyle, and you needed to stay safely away from the danger you would have been faced with if you would have lived together openly.
So it only left time in your routine for a goodbye kiss, a quick and fleeting peck on the lips, later even accompanied by either of you whispering "I love you" as well.
It took time for the both of you to realize though that you were indeed in love, but when you did there was no denying it.
It was fast then, and you met more and more often to just be together.
It took months though for Arthur to make a final decision, but one evening in bed he turned to face you, his naked arms wrapped around your torso.
"I've decided to step away from the business. It's not good for me, or for anyone really, I asked Tom if I could bring a full stop to it", he whispered and you turned to look him in the eyes, taken aback by the determination that you heard in his voice.
"I've decided to stop and... I want you now. All of you", he whispered, his voice growing softer with each word that slipped through his lips, and you watched the determination mix with something like uncertainty in his eyes.
"I want you to move in with me, here or anywhere really, wherever you like", he explained as he set a hand to your jaw, gently caressing it.
"I love you, and I want to share my life with you. My whole life, no exceptions", he finished, and before you knew it you leaned over to kiss him.
You didn't stop there, but you started to litter kisses all over Arthur's face, as you repeated one simple word.
When you stopped showing him affection by kissing him you pulled away a bit, repeating the word you had mumbled once again as you set a hand to the side of his face.
"Yes", you whispered, and you could feel Arthur relax as you saw a wide smile spread on his face.
„I love you, and I want to share my life with you too".